Time Flies (When You've Got Wings)
by ClaraNoblePond
Summary: Sometimes, time flew as though it had stolen the wings off his back. But there were other times, like this, when time seemed stuck - slowed down until it had just about stopped, making every thought, every moment, precious and observable.
1. Watcher of the World

**Just in case you didn't know - I do not own or lay any claim to _Supernatural, _its characters or its storyline. We've got a lot of wonderful writers and actors to thank for that, and none of them are me. Enjoy!**

"Psst. Castiel! Hey, Castiel!"

Castiel turned around to try and find the voice's source, but all that he could see was the familiar dark sky and the shimmering stars of night. So he turned back to his silent vigil, watching Earth from his home of Heaven. Some nights he focused on certain places, watching what the particular people there were doing. Humankind fascinated him - Michael had always said that Gabriel was rubbing off on him, and maybe that was true - the way they interacted, the way they _felt,_ their _emotions,_ their _pain._ And watching them up close was almost always confusing to him. He could never keep up with all that _feeling._ But he liked to watch anyway, even if he didn't completely understand.

However, this night Castiel had chosen to look over humanity as a whole, rather as individuals. He fought the urge to examine his father's strangest creations up close and instead forced himself to look at the Earth in its entirety. His brother Michael's words still rung in his relatively young mind. "Castiel," Michael had said, looking down at his little brother, "We are here to serve humanity. But we are not here to try and be human." Castiel had looked away, ashamed. "I know your fascination with humanity, and I know that it is strong. That is why I urge you to stop these investigations of yours. After all, I don't want my promising future commander to be caught up in the affairs of humans." Michael had smiled then, and Castiel had returned the expression.

The angel sighed, and kicked up a breeze as he flapped his wings absent-mindedly. He knew that being a commander would be an honor. And he knew he had the wits and the skill to become one when he was older. But he also didn't want to give up these endless stretches of time when his only task was to sit still and watch humans in their varied stages of life. Sometimes, time flew as though it had stolen the wings off his back. But there were other times, like this, when time seemed stuck - slowed down until it had just about stopped, making every thought, every moment, precious and observable.

And Castiel knew that there was no such thing as slow time to be found on the battlefield.

"Castiel!"

This time Castiel turned around more hurriedly, and was able to catch a flash of light before it hid behind one of the clouds surrounding the area.

"Balthazar? Balthazar, is that you?"


	2. Secrets and Sprints

Castiel jumped as Balthazar zipped in front of him, laughing like no other angel could. In fact, Castiel had been startled when he'd heard the noise for the first time from Gabriel, he and Balthazar's senior brother. Angels just didn't laugh. The other angels always frowned whenever they heard the laughter that frequently came from the pair, but Castiel secretly loved the sound. It made him want to fly higher, speak louder, and even maybe laugh himself.

Not that he'd ever tell anybody that.

"Balthazar! You scared me!" Castiel exclaimed, standing and staring up at his brother - even though they were about the same age, Castiel had yet to reach what the humans would call his 'growth spurt.' A fact that Balthazar never forgot to mention.

"Hey there, Castiel. Hope you're not hurting yourself too much, having to look up at me like that." He started to laugh again, though this time it filled Castiel more with annoyance than anything else. This was a petty fight... but that didn't mean he would let Balthazar win!

Castiel swiftly flapped his wings to bring himself level with Balthazar, almost smiling as he stared into his brother's eyes, which brightened in surprise.

"Oh, Cassie's going to fight back, is he?"

Suddenly, Balthazar jumped up, spreading his wigs to their full height, and speed straight up, shouting something about how Castiel'd never be able to go as high as he intended to.

_Well,_ Castiel thought, _we'll see about_ that!

With as much energy as he could muster, Castiel followed the path Balthazar carved out in the surrounding clouds, desperate to catch up. Actually, though Castiel' strategy and patience surpassed that of many of the similar-aged angels, his physical prowess surpassed even more. But Balthazar was the best, and nothing, angel or animal, had ever beaten him in a race.

Yet.

That was Castiel' favorite word that he'd learned from humanity - 'yet.' It made impossible things seem possible. In the back of his mind, Castiel knew that he could never beat Balthazar - Balthazar's wingspan alone was enough to leave Castiel in the stardust. But that 'yet' always managed to creep into the angel's head, and he found himself flying faster than ever before, somehow convincing himself that he actually had a chance of winning.

"Not this time, Balthazar!" Castiel shouted as he pumped his wings harder, almost running into and being blinded by a particularly thick clump of clouds.

"Yes, this time! And how many times do I have to tell you, it's just Baz!"

Then Balthazar abruptly came to a halt, and Castiel barreled into him, sending them both flying away in opposite directions.

But both of them recovered quickly and met halfway, Balthazar smiling manically like he would burst out laughing any second and Castiel thoroughly confused as to meaning of his brother's expression.

"What's so funny, Baltha-" Castiel was met with a stern gaze from the taller angel - "Baz?"

Looking satisfied but refusing to answer Castiel's question, 'Baz' flew quietly along, making a signal for Castiel to do the same and to not say anything. After a while, the pair stopped and marveled at the object which lay before them.

It was a magnificent staircase which blended in almost perfectly with the surrounding darkness, stars and clouds. The only thing that even made it noticeable was the outline of an angel standing on the steps, back turned to its brothers behind it.

Castiel suddenly gasped in realization. "Baz," he whispered, somewhat sensing that Balthazar was pleased at the unprompted use of his nickname, "Is this - is this the Stairway to Earth?"

"Y'know, down there, it's just the opposite, kiddo," came a reply from the figure on the steps. Both Balthazar and Castiel froze, unsure what what to do next.

"Oh, c'mon, guys - did you really think you could sneak up on _me?_ I _am_ the unofficial Trickster, after all!"

Castiel sighed as he realized it was Gabriel who stood on the steps, now facing his brothers with the grin he had infected Balthazar with at a young age. Balthazar, on the other hand, only seemed disappointed and surprised.

"I - I -" he stammered as Gabriel came closer, seeming to have trouble finding the right words, "We weren't - I mean, it's not like we -"

"It's not like you overheard the Archangel meeting about Michael using the Stairway to Earth and a little time travel to visit a very specific, important and confidential date which I have no doubt Castiel will learn of soon enough?" Gabriel said in a rare show of (at least seemingly) seriousness.

"What?!" Castiel shouted, turning to look at Balthazar. "You eavesdropped on the Archangel meeting?"

Balthazar shuffled uncomfortably. "I was bored..."

"And if this _is_ the Stairway to Earth, then we shouldn't even be _near_ it, and -" Castiel stopped, slowly getting more frustrated. "_That's_ why you raced me. You were trying to get me away from my post so you wouldn't be alone in whatever this ridiculous plan of yours is!"

Balthazar almost started to speak several times, but eventually gave up and hoped that his silence was enough of a reply.

"Hey, hey, Castiel, give the angel a break. I'm the one who let him eavesdrop, after all."

Two sets of eyes whipped around to face Gabriel, both asking the same question.

_What did you just say?_

"Well, you didn't think it was THAT easy to sneak in on an Archangel's meeting, did you, Baz? You were awfully lucky that _someone _forgot to close one of the lines of communication which you just _happened_ to be passing at the perfect time..."

Gabriel adopted a smug expression as his brothers blinked at him in disbelief.

"And, of course, I knew you'd end up bringing Castiel along, so I didn't even need to ask him."

"So... you planned this all from the beginning," Castiel said quietly.

"Yes, I suppose I did. Now. Aren't you wondering what 'this' is? I know you, Castiel - you might be the best follower Michael's ever had, but you're not as blind as the others are. You, me, Baz - we've got this thing called 'imagination.' That's why I thought you'd appreciate this."

Castiel was silent for a moment, rolling Gabriel's words around in his mind. Imagination was a human thing, and a thing Michael especially despised. Imagination in the field of battle, in strategy, Michael said, was to be commended. But imagination which was let run wild across topics which were of no necessity was useless. Imagination was a danger to the way of angel life. It separated brothers and caused conflict where there should be none.

Castiel didn't really know if he agreed with that definition.

"What is 'this,' then?" Balthazar said, sensing Castiel's change in demeanor and knowing he was right in bringing his friend along.

"'This' is us hijacking the time travel system to see the birth of a child who will one day, I'm told, become part of all of our destinies. What do you say, boys? Ready for a little action?"

Gabriel started descending down the stairs, Balthazar following close behind. Castiel walked up to the first step, hesitated for half a second, and followed his brothers down, down father than he had ever gone before.

Down to Earth.


	3. Don't Look Down

During his downstairs trek, Castiel realized the angels hadn't been lying when they'd said that the staircase was _long._ The first ten hundred thousand steps or so had been no problem, but now even Castiel's fabled calm was beginning to break.

Balthazar had snapped long before, and had already tried to hurtle his way down to Earth using his wings. But he had soon found that there was some force of the staircase that kept his wings in check. He couldn't even spread them out to their full length, and was forced to fold them away, angrily muttering under his breath as he did so.

"I can't believe we have to _walk_ down to Earth," he grumbled while passing Castiel, taking the steps two at a time in a vain effort to make the trip go faster. "I mean, we're _angels,_ for Father's sake!" he shouted a bit more loudly as he let his frustration take over. "We're not meant for walking. Father wouldn't have given us wings if he hadn't wanted us to fly!"

"Well, true enough," interjected Gabriel, halting so that his brothers could catch up to him, "but there's a reason you want to walk down to Earth as opposed to flying."

"Oh, is that so?" huffed Balthazar, while Castiel looked at Gabriel curiously from behind his brother. "And why would I _ever_ choose walking over flying?"

"Because as soon as your wings become useless down there, it won't be flying - it'll be falling."

The trio paused for a second. Angels don't like the f-word - it is a word that signifies loss and pain, a word that signifies banishment, betrayal, and the ultimate punishment. Angels were made to fly. But the same Father who gave them their wings also had the power to take them away. So did Michael.

Though Castiel had never heard Michael talk of it, he knew what Michael had done - had been forced to do - to Lucifer not so very long ago. The story was one that every angel learned well, and the moral was repeated constantly - challenging the commandments of your Father is wrong. Refusing to accept humanity as a race to be respected even more so. And so no other angels had been cast out of Heaven after Lucifer - yet.

Castiel knew several of his brothers who secretly thought that humans were ridiculous, that they were stupid, barbaric things that had no right to be revered by ones as important as angels.

But that was only because they had not stopped to watch the world as carefully as he had. If they would only pause and listen to those people's voices, try and understand what those beings _felt..._

But somehow, that was wrong, too.

So many things were wrong. So many things had such thin boundaries. You must love humanity, but not get attached. You must be imaginative, but only about certain things. You must learn, but only what you are told.

Sometimes, Castiel felt like he was walking down a staircase. One much narrower than the one he walked down now, and one without rails, only lined by a fathomless expanse of dark on either side. A staircase of rules with such strict parameters, so narrow that he could barely walk down it. But he did walk down it. He walked down it every day.

He loved to peer over the sides of the staircase into that darkness, to sit on the edge and imagine what lay unseen below. But if he looked too closely, of sat too far, he knew he would fall - and that there would be nothing to catch him.

But the darkness never stopped calling, and he couldn't help but wonder...

"Oi! Castiel! Cas! Ooo - Cas. I like that. I can call you Cas, can't I? Anyway. Hurry up! We're almost there!"

Castiel was brought out of his reverie by the voice of Gabriel, shouting up at him from much lower down the staircase. Quickly, Castiel banished his thoughts and starting running to his brothers.

And then he stopped, frozen in awe.

"Welcome," Gabriel whispered to his younger brothers, "to Earth."


	4. Half-Awake

Castiel gawked at the sight before him. He had watched Earth countless times from his home above, but never before had he been so close to humanity, or to their world.

The stairs ended in the middle of a grassy field, shrouded in mist. In the darkness of night, the grass seemed to take on much more terrifying shapes. As Gabriel led him and Balthazar through the grass, Castiel understood why the humans were so excited by and dependent on fire. Even though he knew that nothing was hiding in the darkness (and that nothing on Earth could beat an angel), Castiel couldn't help but move a bit more quickly than usual. He even almost reached out to Balthazar. But before he could, the younger angels exchanges looks that said two comforting things. 1: There is absolutely nothing out there. 2: Even if something _was_ out there that could beat us, Gabriel would save us.

And so the three brothers walked, not exactly touching but still connected to the ground below. Suddenly, Castiel had a realization.

"Gabriel - don't we need vessels to walk on Earth?"

Gabriel turned around and laughed. "I was wondering when one of you would think about that! And yes, normally, we do. But lucky for you two," he said, flashing a wink at Balthazar, "your big brother has a few tricks up his sleeve."

"But - but we can't be on Earth in our true forms," Balthazar said, cocking his head to one side. "It's not possible."

"Who said anything about true forms?" Gabriel retorted, shaking his head in (probably) mock disappointment. "Oh, where's your imagination, kid?"

There was that word again - imagination. Unique, individual, inspired thoughts. Thoughts that abounded in humans and that were restricted with angels. But why?

"Cas!" Gabriel said, and Castiel turned around, surprised he'd remembered the ridiculous nickname assigned to him only a short time ago. "Any theories on how we are 'impossibly' walking on Earth?

Castiel peered down, seeing the grass glow bluish-green underneath what would be his feet, were he human. Though, the color of Castiel's form wasn't as blue as it usually was. Somehow it was mutated, diluted... lacking.

"Only part of us is here right now?" Castiel said hesitantly after a few minutes.

Balthazar looked more confused than ever and Gabriel made a noise of approval. "Well done!"

"Castiel, what do you mean, we're only partially here?"

"If I may," Gabriel said with a nod to Castiel, turning to Balthazar. "Look behind you, Baz," he whispered. Slowly, Balthazar turned to look back at the staircase from whence they had come.

And there floated the pale blue figures of Castiel, Balthazar and Gabriel, silhouetted against the brightness of the staircase. Balthazar tried to pick up a blade of grass - it passed right through him.

"We're ghosts?" Balthazar shouted, vexation in his voice.

"We're not dead," Castiel said, confused by Balthazar's reaction. He thought Gabriel had had a very good - a very imaginative - idea. True, they couldn't affect anything that happened on Earth, and if they were somehow hurt in this place by another angel they would surely die. But being only partially on Earth meant that they did not need to seek out vessels. Also, Heaven would not detect their (complete) absence.

"But we're _like_ ghosts," Balthazar insisted, glaring at Gabriel. "You should've asked us before diminishing us to this!" He continued, walking up to his older brother. "We're _useless_ like this. We're not even angels, really. Just shadows of ones. Half awake here, other half asleep over there."

"If you hadn't been willing to do whatever you had to to see this child, you wouldn't have come," was all Gabriel said. He then turned around, looked forward, and started to walk away.

Castiel looked questioningly at Balthazar. After a pause, they both followed Gabriel's example, striding across the plain, not fully there in body, but more than there in mind.

Gabriel was right - Balthazar and Castiel _were_ willing to do pretty much anything to see 'this child.' Because it had become more than seeing a part of their future - it had become a goal, a quest, you might say. It was their first time outrightly disobeying Heaven's orders (or, at least, ignoring them). And they hadn't come this far just to turn away because they couldn't have their full strength. No, they were going to see this child if it was the last thing they'd do.

Gabriel smiled to himself as he sensed his brothers following him deeper into human civilization.


	5. Blinding

Though Castiel didn't notice at first, he eventually realized that the landscape around him was rapidly changing. Soon they were not walking on grass, but on a dirt road. Then stones replaced the dirt, and Balthazar stopped in surprise, finally noticing the morphing ground below. But Gabriel kept on going, and so his brothers tried their best to ignore the changes to the field. Now there were buildings where there had once just been grass - now the road was paved over. Now the buildings began to change, being destroyed and built at a rapid rate. And then Gabriel pushed the two of them out of the now two-lane asphalt road as a metallic contraption came barreling toward them.

Balthazar actually squeaked as he was shoved by Gabriel, the force catching him by surprise. Castiel was sent sprawling into the grass, and he would've felt himself colliding painfully with the ground as he slid, if he'd been able to touch it.

"What was _that_ for?" Castiel asked before Balthazar could, his turn to get frustrated. He loved Gabriel, possibly more than any of his brothers other than Balthazar. But good Father could he be annoying! "We can't even touch anything earthly, so we weren't in any danger that would constitute pushing us away. What, do you just enjoy making us confused?"

"If you want to see what it feels like to have a whole car run right through you, be my guest," Gabriel said, gesturing towards the road. "The one time I time traveled with Michael he didn't care enough to spare me quite an unpleasant experience, and I'm afraid that my vessel didn't make it."

Castiel fell quiet, feeling bad for yelling at his brother. Though Gabriel seemed thoughtless, he always had a method to his madness - though the method wasn't always necessarily the most sane.

"I do, however, greatly enjoy making you confused," Gabriel said, smirking. And Castiel knew that everything was okay. This was part of why he preferred Gabriel to the other angels. Gabriel possessed all of the human traits that Castiel found interesting and beneficial - humor, imagination, rebelliousness, and the ability to forgive. If one wrongs in Heaven, they are never truly forgiven, no matter how small their wrong was. Yes, they are made to repent for their crime, and do tasks that supposedly make up for what they did. But if Castiel had shouted at an archangel in Heaven, he would never have been seen the same way again. Yet Gabriel was not just an archangel. Gabriel was Castiel's brother, his friend, his mentor, in a way. And Gabriel could tell the difference between mild anger and full-on rage. He knew how to forgive, and how to forget.

Oh, if only there were more angels like him!

Castiel turned to look at his brother, but was blinded as another metal contraption turned in front of him, headlights blazing. In fact, as he looked around, he noticed that there were lights everywhere. Light came from the buildings, from the street lamps, from the alternating red/green/yellow circles that seemed to hover in mid-air, from the devices people held in their hands. But the brightest lights came from their souls. Blazing and twisting with the intricacies of human feeling, they lit up the area like nothing Castiel had ever seen before.

It was beautiful.

Balthazar noticed the souls too, and was similarly entranced by the pure light and energy that pulsated around him. The two young angels stood, marveling at the elegance and depth of humanity. They hardly even noticed when someone walked through them, and were only brought out of their reverie by Gabriel.

"So, do you two want to just stand there all day, or actually do what we came here to do?"

Castiel and Balthazar turned around to face Gabriel, both trying to focus at the task at hand.

"Glad to see I have your attention," Gabriel said with mock formality, and then continued with his natural grin. "Alright, boys. We're looking for a car - those things on the road making a ridiculous amount of noise. But not just any car. A very specific one. See, it'll look a bit odd compared to the other cars. And it'll be going faster, most likely. It's black -

"Like that one?" Balthazar asked, pointing.

A long, thin, jet-black car sped down the road, gunning its engine furiously. Castiel caught a flash of the driver's stressed face and thought he heard badly controlled wailing sounds from inside the car as it raced past.

Gabriel whipped around. "That's it!"

The trio chased after the car, almost gliding alongside the vehicle. As they pulled up to it, Castiel saw a small boy sitting in the backseat with a pregnant woman Castiel guessed was his mother. The boy held his mother's hand as tightly as he could and kept talking to her, though her exclamations drowned out his words.

The car gained ground and Castiel fell behind.

"Faster, Cas, faster!"

Time had never flown so fast for Castiel, and he doubted that it ever would again.


	6. A Lesson In Big Brotherhood

Castiel stumbled through the hospital entrance, barely keeping up with his brothers as they tore down the hallway. After a few more moments of frantic running, Castiel slammed full force into Balthazar, who in turn unbalanced Gabriel. The three angels fought to regain their bearings, but by then it was too late - they'd lost the three humans they'd been following.

"Blast!" Balthazar said, looking down the seemingly endless hallway. "We'll never find them in here!"

"Don't give up yet, Baz," Gabriel said, making a shushing gesture. "Now, quiet!"

Balthazar and Castiel fought to silence themselves as Gabriel strained his hearing as far as it could go. All he needed was for that little boy or the father to say something, _anything,_ to get a lock on them.

"Daddy, Mommy's going to be okay, right?"

And in the blink of an eye, Gabriel whisked them all to the room where the little boy sat waiting with his father, his blond hair a mess on his head and his green eyes a mixture of fatigue and excitement.

"That's the kid's brother," Gabriel whispered, seeming to forget that the humans couldn't hear him (or maybe he just wanted to whisper - that was more Gabriel's style) and confirming Castiel's suspicions. "He's part of our destinies too, apparently, though Michael wouldn't say much about him except that he and his brother will be virtually inseparable."

Castiel stared at the boy. He seemed so fragile, and so small compared to his father who sat beside him. Such tiny hands, such innocent eyes. But if this boy was to become part of the angels' future - of _his_ future - then Castiel knew that that innocence would soon fade away.

"What his name?" Castiel asked, keeping Gabriel's whispering tone.

"His name is -"

"Of course she'll be fine, Dean," said the larger man gently, putting a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "It's perfectly normal for this to happen. The doctors will call us in as soon as we can see her and, soon after that, your new brother."

'Dean' nodded his head softly and looked out the window into the starless night, the darkness only lit by the lights humanity had made themselves.

"Daddy, what if - what if I'm not a good big brother?"

None of the angels said a word, and Castiel could've sworn that Gabriel actually looked a bit soft at the young boy's question. Now that Castiel thought about it, Gabriel was _his_ big brother. But he had never thought that being a big brother was hard - he'd just assumed that big brothers knew everything about being there for their younger siblings right off the bat, and that his worse big brothers in Heaven just didn't want to try. But now he could see, through this boy's troubled question and by Gabriel's sigh, that this was not so.

"Now, what makes you say that?" Asked Dean's father as his son turned away. "I think you'll make a great big brother."

"But - but what am I supposed to _do?_ How can I be a good big brother?" Dean asked, his eyes gleaming and his hands nervously shifting in his lap. "It's not like I've done it before..."

Dean's father smiled, and got down to look at Dean face-to-face. "Do you really want to know?"

Dean's head lifted up to meet his father's gaze and he nodded, slowly at first and then more quickly. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"You love him. You teach him everything he has to know - how to play, how to run, how to be as awesome as you. But you let him make his own decisions, too - he might not like the same stuff as you. And that's okay. He's a different person. Most importantly, he's family. And you love your family, no matter how different they are."

Dean smiled at his father's words.

"Can you love him, Dean? No matter who he turns out to be?"

"Yes, Daddy, of course I can," Dean said, laughing as his father picked him up in a hug.

"Well then, I think you'll be a fine big brother."

Castiel was astounded by the amount of compassion that tied these two humans together. Their souls blended into one as Dean was enveloped by his father's hug, whirling around each other playfully. Dean's father had told him to love his brother. But - but what were angels supposed to do? If love was a distracting emotion, what were they supposed to feel for each other? Hate? Indifference? Why could they not share the connection that human families did with each other? They were, after all, family. And family, apparently, was supposed to be loved.

Balthazar and Castiel exchanged looks, and Castiel knew that his brother was asking the same questions. What kind of brothers were they, really? And what about the other angels in Heaven? Castiel knew that he was blessed to know brothers like Balthazar and Gabriel, for he also knew many angels who shared nothing with their fellow siblings. Did they not deserve to find brothers (and sisters) who cared about them as much as Castiel cared about the two angels standing next to him?

Another person, who Castiel presumed was a doctor, walked into the room. Dean and his father got up quickly, and followed the woman out.

"This is it, boys," Gabriel said as they trailed behind the man who would soon have two sons, and the boy who would become a brother. "The moment we've been waiting for."

Castiel crossed through the doorway, not sure what to expect.


	7. The Boy Who Will Be King

But before Castiel could take more than one step through the door, Gabriel grabbed him from behind and pulled him back. Castiel felt the door slam behind him and turned around to face his brother, puzzled.

"Not time yet, Cas," Gabriel said, gesturing to a clock that was hanging on the wall. "Turns out I was wrong - that big moment's not going to be for ten more minutes."

Castiel just looked at Gabriel, contorting his face in deep thought. He paused, and then said very gravely, "Gabriel... how are babies made?"

Gabriel sputtered a bit, and Castiel could've sworn he turned a little pink.

"Cas-Castiel, I'm quite sure you know just how."

"But I don't, Gabriel," Castiel said, his face still clouded in thought. "Do you?"

"I don't know either," Balthazar chimed in, looking just as confused as Castiel. "Can't you tell us, Gabriel?"

Something akin to fear lit up in Gabriel's eyes.

And Castiel and Balthazar just couldn't hold it in any longer. The two angels burst out laughing, surprised that their little act had fooled the 'infamous Trickster.'

While he laughed, Castiel realized something. _He could laugh._ He could be happy - be human, in a way. And that just made him laugh even more.

"All right, guys, you got me," Gabriel said, huffing and trying to look disinterested. "Ha ha." But behind his nonchalant demeanor, it was easy to see he was secretly pleased with his younger siblings.

Castiel and Balthazar forced themselves to stop laughing, but they still smiled broadly at their older brother.

"No, really though, Gabriel," Balthazar said, trying to compose himself into a more serious state. "What's so special about this child that's going to be born?"

Some of the perpetual light in Gabriel's eyes seemed to fade away at Balthazar's question, and Castiel's smile was quickly wiped off his face.

"Gabriel... Gabe... what is it?"

"Ever heard of the Boy King of Hell?"

Balthazar and Castiel shook their heads in unison.

"Well... it's said that one day, a demon will rise from the pits of Hell, and with him will be an army. And at the head of this army will be a man, a boy, really, tainted with the blood of a demon."

Castiel and Balthazar remained silent.

"Now, we're not sure who exactly the child will be - for all we know, it could actually be the Girl Queen. But all our sources and clues seem to point to this child as the one who is destined to lead that army."

Gabriel looked at his brother's slightly fearful expressions. Angels and demons never _ever_ mixed, and they both knew what a rising from Hell would mean.

"Prophecies are never fully correct, of course," Gabriel said, hoping to comfort the young, troubled angels before him. "He might not be the Boy King after all - heck, the whole army might not even rise."

Castiel's eyes grew a little bit lighter.

"But..." Gabriel knew he'd hate himself for saying this, but he wanted them to know the whole truth. "But that's not the worst part."

"Then what is?" whispered Balthazar, the quiver evident in his voice.

"He's -" Gabriel took a breath - "he's the true vessel of Lucifer."

Gabriel had never seen living angels look so pale.

Suddenly, all three angels started as a new, piercing cry was heard from the closed room in front of them.

"Well, now you know. Ready to see Lucifer's future meat suit?"

* * *

><p>"He's beautiful, John," said the woman Castiel had seen in the backseat of the car. She was now holding her newest son, who refused to stay quiet for one moment.<p>

Castiel didn't think that the crying blob was particularly stunning aesthetically, but he'd heard that humans got very emotional over their young.

"Yes he is, Mary," said John, kissing the top of his wife's forehead. "Hey, bud," he called to his firstborn, who had been standing a safe distance away from the bed for fear of interrupting his brother's birth, "come say hello to your brother."

Dean walked over, and Mary leaned the baby so that Dean could see its face. As soon as he caught sight of his big brother, the baby fell silent, big eyes blinking up at Dean.

"I love you," Dean said quietly, taking hold of one of his baby brother's hands, even tinier than his own. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

And Castiel had to wonder... Gabriel had said that prophecies could be wrong. Even if this baby was the choice vessel for Lucifer, maybe he would find some way to escape. Maybe he'd crush that prophecy underfoot and be able to live a normal, human life.

Castiel knew that all of this thinking was simply wishful and illogical. But standing there, seeing how Mary beamed and John smiled and Dean kept whispering "I love you, I love you," over and over to his newborn brother, Castiel couldn't help himself. Castiel _needed_ to believe that this boy had a chance to escape the plan the angels had marked for him.

"What's his name? What my brother's name?" Dean asked his mom quietly, not taking his eyes off the newest addition to his family.

Mary smiled up at John, and then back at her fair-haired son. "His name is -"

Without warning, Castiel felt Balthazar and himself being transported by Gabriel back to the Stairway to Earth - now the Stairway to Heaven, as they were facing up it.

The two brothers turned on their elder, finally reaching the point of anger.


	8. Michael's Title

Despite Castiel and Balthazar's obvious hatred towards him in that moment, Gabriel ran right past them, faster than they'd ever seen him go before. They turned to face each other, each equally baffled. Where in Heaven was Gabriel going?

In lieu of an explanation, Gabriel merely stopped long enough to shout "Michael!" down to his brothers and to see them leap up the stairs as quickly as they could.

Castiel didn't waste a second, using everything he had to charge up the stairs. Michael must have been in the baby's room as well. And if he'd seen them before Gabriel had zapped them out... well, Castiel didn't want to think of the punishments the senior angel would think up.

Why hadn't they remembered that it was Michael going to see this boy that had spurred their whole adventure in the first place? Why oh why oh why?

Balthazar pulled ahead of Castiel, wings flapping uselessly on his back, limbs working in perfect synchronization. There was no complaining about the length of the stairs this time. And there was no hint of resentment from Castiel as Balthazar ran farther and farther ahead of him.

He only felt a growing sense of fear. If he was last, that would mean Michael would find him first. And he did _not,_ under _any_ circumstances, want to face off the enraged version of his oldest brother.

The three angels rushed on the stairs, trying to beat daylight as it slowly began to paint the sky, their home, in shades of orange and pink. On the other side of Heaven, the moon was just beginning to rise. But here, it was the sun which shined over - and the sun which signaled that Castiel and his brothers were taking too long.

Though Castiel never looked back, he couldn't help but partially believe that the phantom footfalls behind him were actually there.

* * *

><p>Castiel sat at his post, forcing his breathing to slow. He needed to properly compose himself before -<p>

"Good morning, Castiel."

It took all of Castiel's will not to jump up ten feet in the air as Michael's voice reached him. Instead he took one last deep breath, closed his eyes for a second, and then turned around, trying to look as though he'd had the most boring watch of all time.

"Good morning, Michael."

"Nothing to report, I assume?" Michael asked, smiling at his younger brother.

"Nothing at all," Castiel replied, pretending to seem like he was tired of sitting still.

"Well, I won't keep you any longer, then - you are dismissed, Castiel."

Slowly, gracefully, Castiel stretched his wings as though they were stiff from being held in the same place, straightened up, and hovered a few feet off the ground before coming back down to face Michael.

"Thank you, commander," Castiel said, bowing slightly.

Michael nodded his head, and Castiel flew off, releasing the tension he'd been holding in.

"Oh, Castiel?"

Castiel swiveled back to face Michael, trying to hide his alarm. "Yes, commander?"

"It's -" Michael paused for a second, looking out before directing his gaze back at Castiel again. "It's just 'brother.' Not 'commander.' We are not on the field right now, so I am not your commander at the moment - just your family."

Castiel paused, quite stunned by the words that came out of Michael. "Thank - thank you. Thank you, brother."

Michael nodded again, and then took up his post, wings folded and eyes set on Earth.

As he flew away, Castiel couldn't help but wonder - what was that child'd name? Not that it was particularly important - Lucifer's vessel would be Lucifer's vessel no matter what it - he - was called... but still. Castiel wondered what it was like to be able to name a child, to create a new life that had you to thank for its existence. There were no baby angels in Heaven. Though Michael and Gabriel were his 'older' brothers and Castiel was their 'younger' brother, really they had been created at a similar time, in angel terms. And they had no parent save for God. Had God thought long about Castiel's name before giving it to him? Had God even given him his name?

Creation was such a human thing. Angels, Castiel realized, were only there to keep things running. Humans were the ones who created, who imagined, who dreamed. Who came up with a thousand different explanations for why the stars shine. Who protected their young so fiercely, and fostered a sense of family. True, some of them could be terrible - Castiel had seen plenty of humans who were a waste of air from his perch on high. But as he thought about Dean, about John, about Mary, and about that nameless child which they all planned to raise together, Castiel knew that humans could be good. That they could be great. And that he would never stop watching them.

**Hope you guys have enjoyed the story! If you'd like to, feel free to review! Thanks, guys! People reading my fics means a lot to me :)**


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